The Habsburg dynasty was one of the most powerful in Europe from the early
13th to the early 19th century. It was also a major power in cultural
matters. It attracted the best musicians and composers to serve at its
courts. The Habsburg rulers loved music, and some were skilful players of
various instruments and acted as composers. It was a profusely-branched
family which resulted in many composers and musicians being connected in one
way or another to members of this dynasty.
This disc focuses on Charles VI who was Holy Roman Emperor from 1711 until
his death in 1740. It was the final heyday of the imperial court in Vienna,
with two major figures as
Kapellmeister and
vice-
Kapellmeister: Johann Joseph Fux and Antonio Caldara
respectively. The G.A.P. Ensemble wisely presents its programme as
"music from the reign of Charles VI of Austria", and not music
written for or performed at his court. Often we do not know exactly when
music was written and for which occasion.
Giovanni Antonio Piani is a good example of a musician who worked at the
court in Vienna for many years but whose only extant music dates from before
1721, the year he entered the service of Charles VI and became one of the
highest-paid musicians at the court. The twelve sonatas for violin and bc
op. 1 were published in Paris in 1712. It was only recently that his music
was brought to our attention by the same musicians, albeit not under the
name of G.A.P. Ensemble - the initials actually refer to Piani's
name. In my
review I expressed my admiration for Piani's
sonatas, and my positive impressions are confirmed by the three sonatas
played here which extend the number available on disc to seven. They are
largely modelled after the Corellian
sonata da camera. The
collection is historically important because of dynamic indications such as
crescendo, diminuendo and
messa di voce.
Antonio Caldara was Charles VI's favourite composer. The
Italian-born master had set his eyes on a position at the court in Vienna
from early in his career, and after some failed attempts succeeded in
entering the service of the emperor. When he died in 1736 the bells of St
Stephen's Cathedral rang as they only did when rulers were born,
married or were buried. Caldara composed a large number of works, especially
oratorios and operas, for performance at court. Whether his cantata
Risoluto son già, tiranno amore dates from his time in Vienna is
impossible to say. His large corpus of chamber cantatas - at least around
300 - has not been sorted out as yet. The fact that imitative counterpoint
plays a significant role in this piece - as in his oeuvre in general - was
one of the factors which must have attracted Charles VI as the Habsburg
emperors were rather conservative in their musical tastes. The violin plays
an important role here, as it does in the other two cantatas.
Both Alessandro Scarlatti and Antonio Vivaldi were connected to the
Habsburg dynasty in a more indirect way. Scarlatti was from Naples which had
been under Spanish rule but then came into the hands of the Emperor. In 1708
he was appointed chapel master by the Austrian viceroy in 1708. He was the
most prolific composer of chamber cantatas in Italy, mostly for soprano and
bc, but sometimes with additional instruments, such as in
Appena chiudo
gli occhi. He also laid down the standard texture of the chamber
cantata: two pairs of recitative and aria. However, he sometimes departed
from this form, and that is the case here too as the cantata starts with an
instrumental introduction. The recitatives include some chromaticism, in the
first for instance on the word 'tormento'. The first aria is
rather long: about seven minutes, and is the most expressive part of the
cantata, both in the vocal and the violin part.
Vivaldi was also interested in a position in Vienna, but never managed to
attain an official post. However, Charles VI was full of admiration for the
composer, whom he once met personally. Twice Vivaldi dedicated a collection
of concertos to the emperor, one of them his op. 9, 'La
Cetra'. From 1718 to 1720 Vivaldi was employed as
maestro di
cappella da camera at the court of Mantua which had been annexed by the
Habsburgs in 1707 as the result of the Spanish War of Succession. Charles VI
installed Prince Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt as his governor. Vivaldi composed
a little more than forty chamber cantatas, mostly for soprano or alto with
basso continuo. In some he added instrumental parts, either strings (two
violins, viola) or a single instrument, such as the recorder or the violin.
In the second aria of
Lungi dal vago volto the violin has a
virtuoso part which includes double-stopping.
That is the only well-known piece on this disc. I have already referred to
Piani's sonatas as music which only recently started to be
discovered. Caldara's oeuvre is hardly explored as yet, and every
piece which sheds light on the qualities of this master is most welcome.
Scarlatti's corpus of cantatas is an inexhaustible source: he
composed more than 600. Many of them are of outstanding quality and highly
expressive, and that includes the one performed here.
In Raffaella Milanesi's performances the dramatic and expressive
qualities of these cantatas is perfectly conveyed. It is just a shame that
the booklet omits any translation of the text which is a serious
shortcoming. Even so one cannot fail to note Ms Milanesi's skills in
the exposition of the emotions in the recitatives and arias, for instance in
the subtle crescendi and diminuendi in the last aria from Caldara's
cantata. Particularly expressive passages are effectively singled out, and
the recitatives are taken with an optimum of rhythmic freedom. These
positive features make it all the more regrettable that she didn't
control her vibrato more carefully.
The instrumentalists act at the same level: Emilio Percan is again an
engaged advocate of the music by Piani. I hope that he will have the
opportunity to record the remaining five sonatas some time.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
